Friday Fiscal Wellness Check, January 2, 2026
It's a new year now and more than any other, I need to pay attention to where my dollars are going. Illness hit our house, not me so much ( though fatigued and sniffly), but my son, so I stayed put too as I did not want to be a carrier to others. I'm going to look for a new picture to start the 2026 Friday Fiscal Wellness Check. I'll likely still copy the previous week, delete the old and updated as I go along the week. This will help me add as the week goes on. I have big needs and bigger wants in 2026 and it already feels like money is pouring out of my bank account and it's only my first check in. Tracking major focus areas help my accountability to myself. You're welcome to come along for the ride. Here's my recap of Friday, December 26 to Thursday, January 1. I just sort of list things as they come up, then edit before publishing.
Avoiding Spending/ Saving on Needs
- Paid all end of month bills and deposited sinking funds to both avoid any late fees or interest and peace of mind for intermittent bills
- Almost every bit of "holiday" food bought for celebration was either eaten at gatherings or (minimal)brought home, eaten for zero food waste. There's still an unopened small wheel of brie and a shrink wrapped cheddar with cranberry from the cheese store and crescent roll dough which will get used somehow this weekend.
- Generic chocolates purchased at 30% less that work for any time of year- put in freezer
- Got a reduced Whiskey mixer set to go along with a to be purchased bottle for my BIL's upcoming birthday
- No one got beverages other than water on the planned, new tradition, of going for a post Christmas all you can eat sushi lunch. I was under my budget by $49 as I estimated for drinks and the lunch price hadn't increased as I anticipated.
- Fun gathering Monday night at a book club "watch party" movie of the book, Something from Tiffany's, December books choice. My friend had lots of leftover wine in boxes from different events and several of us brought treats from our holiday. It was a nice thrifty gathering.
- Entered receipts in Fetch and Microsoft rewards points (links provided and we both get points if you use my referral.)
- It's very far in the future, but I accepted a back-to-back two day sub job for mid-April in an elementary school Special Education classroom. It's a start to my 2026 goals.
Then, there are often other things that impacted my check book that came up without much planning or notice, an extra optional expense, or an all-out splurge.
- With my daughter visiting with her cats, we changed the main litter box fully each day. Her cats keep using hers even though there's a separate. Got to keep it clean but it meant an additional big bucket and smaller of litter. Cheaper than vet bills
- I did a run to get cold and flu meds, gatorade, simple chicken noodle soup, and more tea to help my son feel more human. Of course there were other grabs when I was there. As it was still December, I'm putting it to my poor 2025 habits and not my renewed focus in 2026.
- Fri - Large lunch so it was Fend for Yourself
- Sat- mushroom and pepper ragu sauce over penne pasta
- Sun- Made in the Crock-Pot Chickpea Curry and basmati rice (son was very sick, nothing for him)
- Mon- Bean and ham soup with homemade, most of which I ended up freezing since my son was eating none of it, bread ( bread maker) or leftovers
- Tues- Leftover and picky bits kitchen clear out
- Weds- Leftovers and anything either of us felt like eating as he was just coming out of feeling rotten.
- Thurs- More just picky bits, toast later the three of us shared a frozen pizza, but there's leftovers of that now too. I and my daughter were feeling very sluggish, but not outright sick.
Yes, my friend, stay well! And hope your son is on the mend.
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year, Sam. May you have a year of good times and good health. Hope your son is feeling better now. Take care x
ReplyDeleteJust an idea, open up that box of brie (take out the paper but keep the box), pour in a little white wine and add a few garlic cloves. Put in the oven until starting to melt and then start dipping bread in it when it comes out. It's delicious (and the garlic cloves will keep humanity and vampires away for ages)!
ReplyDeleteGreat goals and your sushi and book club events look fun! I am proud of the fact that we rescued two holiday meals to avoid waste. DH made a delicious beef stew from rib roast leftovers in hand for our extended holiday meal. I used up the immediate family Christmas ham to make a black bean and ham soup in the crockpot. I also froze the ham hock and more leftover ham for a future ham and bean soup.
ReplyDelete